Procedural sedation and analgesia

Procedural sedation and analgesia (PSA) is a technique in which a sedating/dissociative medication is administered often in combination with analgesics. It allows a patient to undergo painful procedures by inducing decreased levels of consciousness but not requiring intubation as the patient ventilates spontaneously. Additionally, airway protective reflexes are not compromised by this process. It is commonly used in the emergency medicine setting in addition to operating-room and non-operating-room procedures. Procedural sedation and analgesia (PSA) is a technique in which a sedating/dissociative medication is administered often in combination with analgesics. It allows a patient to undergo painful procedures by inducing decreased levels of consciousness but not requiring intubation as the patient ventilates spontaneously. Additionally, airway protective reflexes are not compromised by this process. It is commonly used in the emergency medicine setting in addition to operating-room and non-operating-room procedures.